Our leadership team

The Very Reverend John Witcombe

John is Dean of Coventry, carrying responsibility for the overall leadership of the Cathedral’s ministry both locally and internationally.

After reading law at Cambridge, John spent an intern year in Manhattan, then trained for ordination in Nottingham before serving a curacy in the ex-mining parish of Birtley, County Durham. He led churches in suburban Nottingham, Sheffield and West London and completed an M.Phil in atonement theology before becoming Dean of St. John’s College Nottingham, teaching Practical Theology and leading the residential community. He then moved to Gloucester as Director of Ordinands and Curate Training, and subsequently Director of Ministry and Residentiary Canon of Gloucester Cathedral, before moving to his present post leading Coventry Cathedral in January 2013. Coventry’s urban setting, commitment to peace and reconciliation, and diverse tradition embodies the heart of his vocation to ordination.

John is married to Ricarda, who is also a priest, leading the Chaplaincy team in a local hospital. He relaxes by walking in the hills, and enjoys the arts, and especially the annual Greenbelt festival with its commitment to faith, justice and the arts. John and Ricarda share five adult children, a cat and several fish.

The Reverend Canon David Stone

David has been Precentor of Coventry Cathedral since September 2010 and Sub-Dean since April 2014. He oversees the ministry of the Cathedral’s music and worship department and is responsible for all services that take place in the Cathedral. David came to Coventry after eight years as Team Rector of Newbury, where he had particular responsibility for the town centre church of St Nicolas, before which he was Vicar of St Jude’s Church in Earls Court, and Area Dean of Chelsea.

David originally trained as a medical doctor and was ordained in 1988. In his mid-teens he was a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal College of Music, studying double bass, piano and organ. He has written several books, including Teach Yourself the New Testament, The Baptism Service and The Communion Service. He is married to Buff, who is also an ordained doctor, and they have twin sons, both of whom have been choristers in the Cathedral choir.

The Reverend Canon Kathryn Fleming

Kathryn is the Cathedral’s Canon Pastor with the brief is “to nurture the Cathedral community (in its widest sense) as a reconciled and reconciling people”. This includes not only building relationships with those who work and worship here, but also fostering links between the parishes and the Cathedral, as “Mother Church” of the diocese. It also seems to include drinking a lot of coffee.

Kathryn arrived in Coventry from many happy years in Gloucestershire, latterly as vicar of St Matthew’s, Cainscross, in the Stroud Team Ministry. After studying English at Trinity College, Cambridge and Durham, where she specialised in 17th century religious poetry, she had a varied career before ordination, as a bookseller, music-teacher,B&B proprietor and charity administrator. Words and music are her great loves. It was through her years of leading worship as a chorister in Cambridge and London that God first drew her towards ministry. She is an enthusiastic communicator and has been blogging since ordination as “Good in Parts”. She has just launched a 2nd twitter account as “Coventry Canon”.

Married to Andrew, a clock-maker, Kathryn has 3 grown-up children – Lucinda, Giles and Jack – and an extended family of cats, dog and chickens. Other passions include the Greenbelt Festival and India, and an elderly narrowboat called ‘Polyphony’.

The Reverend Canon Sarah Hills

Our Canon for Reconciliation Ministry, Sarah, was born in South Africa, brought up in Northern Ireland, and lived in Sheffield since the mid 1980’s, before moving to Coventry. She qualified in medicine and worked as a psychiatrist, specialising in psychotherapy. She was ordained in 2007, and has most recently held the post of the Bishop of Sheffield’s Adviser in Pastoral Care and Reconciliation. Sarah’s work is in Reconciliation, with the Community of the Cross of Nails, with training and direct intervention both within the UK and internationally, especially using the space of St Michael’s House, and sharing the reconciliation story of Coventry.

She attained her PhD in the theology of reconciliation at Durham University, and is a Visiting Fellow of St John’s College, Durham. She is married to Richard, a GP, and they have two teenage sons, Matt and Jack, and a Labrador, Roxy. Her other passions include music, hiking and sailing, on the sailing boat ‘Esme’.

Mrs Isabel Merrifield

Isabel joined the Cathedral in February 2016 as Business Manager. Prior to that she had held a number of senior roles in local government and also in Royal Mail.

Isabel has lived in the local area since 1990 and is married to Dave. They have grown-up twins. Isabel’s hobbies include singing with the Coventry Cathedral Chorus.